


The Felix Fiasco

by quicksilversquared



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gabriel outs himself like an idiot, Gen, episode rewrite, supportive extended family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22427194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quicksilversquared/pseuds/quicksilversquared
Summary: AU of the episode FelixInstead of cutting off what his father was going to say, Adrien inadvertently let Mr. Agreste out himself as Hawkmoth. With some help from a friend- and some surprise visiting family members- and a bit of luck, Paris might just find itself one supervillain down by the end of the day.
Comments: 86
Kudos: 850





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a what-if for the episode Felix, where Adrien didn't interrupt his father when he was about to tell Adrien that he was Hawkmoth and then the fallout from that, because we were SO CLOSE and then Adrien had to interrupt him and be all supportive of his supervillain dad moving on but not really.
> 
> Also, Felix is a hilarious little gremlin, particularly after you take away the behavior that they gave him for the clear and express purpose of spiting PV fans.
> 
> (also, this fic may or may not include some somewhat borderline-crack headcanons about why Adrien and Felix look so similar so. Uh. There's that.)

When Mr. Agreste had told Adrien that he had something important to tell him, Adrien had been excited. He was pretty sure that he knew exactly what his father was going to say- after all, he had seen Mr. Agreste and Nathalie looking _really_ close lately, and they _really_ looked like they were headed for a relationship. It would be hard and awkward for his father to admit that he was moving on, of course, so Adrien wanted to be as supportive as possible. Maybe he could make it easier for his father if he told him that he had already noticed and was fine with it, but- well, Mr. Agreste didn't like people interrupting him, or presuming what he was going to say.

So Adrien bit his tongue instead, keeping himself from interrupting and upsetting his father. Only seconds later, he was regretting that.

He listened in absolute _horror_ as his father admitted that he had always known where Adrien's mom was, that she was in a secret chamber under the house after falling into a magically induced coma. His stomach twisted in dread as his father hastened to assure him that she was stable, and _definitely_ still alive, and that he had a plan in place to get her awake again.

He had a sinking feeling that he knew where this was going. Adrien didn't- he didn't _want_ to believe it, he wanted it to mean something else, _anything_ else, this _couldn't_ be happening, a roaring was starting up in his ears-

"I am Hawkmoth, and I want to get the Miraculous to change the timeline," Mr. Agreste told him, his eyes sliding up towards the window. "So that your mother wouldn't fall into the coma at all. Nathalie thought that I ought to tell you, since things have been dragging on with Ladybug and Chat Noir. That's _quite_ annoying, but- well, I digress. I know that the city has been painting me as a villain, but I assure you-"

Adrien couldn't hear him anymore. The roaring in his ears had drowned everything else out, and his heart was _racing_ , pounding _get-away get-away get-away_.

So Adrien scrambled to his feet and _bolted_.

From inside of the courtyard, he could slam the button to unlock the gates, flinging himself through them and slamming the gate behind him again with a deafening _clang_ so that his father would be slowed down. Adrien could hear Mr. Agreste yelling after him, sounding furious and worried all at once, but he couldn't make out the words. His head was spinning, thoughts racing through his mind too fast for him to make any sense of them.

He- he had to get away. Who knew what his father had planned? Why- why would he tell Adrien about his supervillainry _now?_ Was he going to try to get Adrien to come to his side, to help him somehow? He couldn't be forced into that, he couldn't, he _couldn't-_

And so he ran.

* * *

Marinette had just stepped outside to go meet up with the rest of her classmates when the first car horn made her pause. More horns and squealing tires and shouts had her stepping back towards the door, even as her eyes scanned the surroundings for anything out of place. Sounds like that could really only mean one thing in Paris: an akuma.

But she wasn't hearing maniac laughter or any sort of gloating akuma announcing their name, or seeing any flashes of light that would _also_ indicate an akuma. Marinette frowned in confusion and stepped forward to take a closer look, but a flash of movement caught her attention and her eyes locked on the figure racing recklessly through the park, nearly getting hit by a skateboarder. The near-miss and subsequent yell didn't even seem to register with them.

With a jolt, Marinette realized that she _recognized_ that figure. It was _Adrien,_ and he was clearly in distress.

 _Well_. So much for the class getting together to come up with an idea to make Adrien feel better on the anniversary of his mom's disappearance. Clearly it was already a bit late for that.

Her heart jumped into her throat as Adrien continued his outright sprint out of the park and straight into the road. Tires squealed- thankfully people had gotten _really_ good at being alert while driving and stopping quickly thanks to the akuma attacks, at least Hawkmoth and his akumas were good for _something_ \- but Adrien didn't even seem to notice as he raced blindly across the street, towards the sidewalk on the other side of the bakery. Marinette sprung into action at once, zipping around the bakery and catching Adrien around the waist to stop him, planting her feet as she did so that he wouldn't knock her over.

" _No_ ," Adrien gasped, blindly fighting against her hold. "No, no, let me _go_ , don't bring me back there, let me _go_ -"

"I'm not bringing you back anywhere," Marinette promised, but she could tell that Adrien hadn't heard her at all. "Adrien, _listen to me_ , I'm not taking you anywhere. It's Marinette, you're safe. _Please_."

" _No_!" Adrien was scrabbling now, and Marinette winced as she felt his nails digging in to her skin, scratching her. "No- he has _Mom_ , I have to get away before he makes me help him-"

People were starting to stop and stare. Marinette winced- _ugh_ , some of them were getting phones out, what was their _problem_?- and then squared her shoulders as best she could. She needed to get Adrien off of the street and into privacy, and she needed to do it _now_.

So she loosened her grip, adjusting her stance quickly before Adrien could take off, and hoisted Adrien over her shoulder before straightening up. He was still thrashing and kicking- she was going to have some _major_ bruises later, but Future Marinette could worry about that- but she could stumble back around the front of the bakery to their side door. Tikki quickly phased out of her purse and through the door, popping it open, and Marinette ducked in. Almost as soon as the door closed, Adrien stiffened, apparently knocked out of his blind panic, and his frantic fighting slowed to a stop.

 _Well_. Apparently the smell of baking bread and spices had been just what Adrien needed to knock him out of his panic-fueled blindness.

"Back with us?" Marinette asked, letting Adrien slip back down to the floor feet-first. She held on until she was sure that he wasn't just going to collapse to the floor. "Adrien?"

Adrien managed a nod. "I- yeah."

"Let's go upstairs," Marinette suggested. The hallway wasn't exactly equipped for a breakdown, after all. She kept an eye out for butterflies. "Can you manage?"

"Yeah," Adrien tried, taking a step towards the stairs. His legs nearly buckled under him, and Marinette rushed to support him. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Don't apologize," Marinette told him at once. Based on his state right now, she was guessing that Adrien had just had a _huge_ shock. Being unsteady like this was to be expected, really. "We'll get there eventually. Just.. don't step backwards. Or lean backwards."

Adrien nodded, sharp and jerky. "Right."

"Adrien?" Mrs. Cheng ducked into the back hallway, her eyes wide as she took in his state. Marinette guessed that she had probably seen them through the window. "Dear, are you- Marinette, can you take him back to the staff break room, maybe? It will be easier than trying to go upstairs. And we just added a new couch in there, so it's plenty cozy. I can ask the other staff to stay out for the time being."

Marinette nodded, changing direction at once. She _really_ didn't want to go up the stairs with Adrien liable to collapse at any moment. "Good idea."

"I don't want to inconvenience anyone," Adrien protested, his voice thin. Mrs. Cheng was by his side at once.

"It's fine, dear, _really_ ," she told him. "None of them would be having their breaks soon anyway, they all took them earlier. All they might be popping in for would be a cup of tea or something between batches, but they usually don't." She placed a hand on Adrien's other shoulder, steering them forward into the main kitchen of the bakery and then immediately off into the small side room at the front. "Here. It's not the most private place in the house, granted, but..."

"It'll do," Marinette finished quietly. She squeezed Adrien's hand, but he was clutching her hand so tightly that she doubted that it would even register. "Uh, I don't suppose we have any blankets down here?"

Mrs. Cheng worried her lip, glancing back towards the front of the shop. "No, but..."

"I'll be fine," Adrien repeated, sounding very _not-_ fine. "I don't need a blanket."

"If you change your mind, just let Tom know," Mrs. Cheng told them. She glanced backwards again, then perked up. "Actually, perfect timing, he's got more bread to bring up front. I'll just ask him to cover for a few minutes while I grab a blanket. It'll be a few minutes, thought."

Marinette nodded in understanding, already steering Adrien towards the couch. He was starting to shake again, and she was _really_ concerned. What on _earth_ had happened for him to get this upset? It was _really_ unusual.

The door shut behind Mrs. Cheng, and Marinette got Adrien down on the couch. He curled up against her side at once, clearly seeking out contact, and she could only hug him close. Another minute passed while he clung to her, muffled sounds from the bakery- sheet trays clattering, indistinct conversation, oven doors opening and shutting, feet crossing the floor and back again- coming through the closed door. They were closer than they ever had been before- not a surprise, really, because Adrien was practically _wrapped_ around Marinette- but she wouldn't let herself focus on it.

Adrien was there, and he was hurting.

"It's my _father_ ," Adrien murmured into her shoulder at last, his voice thick with tears. "He's my father, and he has _mom_ , and- Marinette, what am I supposed to _do?"_

"Wait, back up," Marinette said, frowning. She- well, she was officially lost. Adrien's father had his mom, but- but wasn't she _missing?_ How did Mr. Agreste have his wife and yet have an active police investigation going on? That just _didn't make sense_. "I feel like I'm missing something here."

Adrien lifted his head, teary green eyes staring into her own. "Father, he- he's Hawkmoth. What do I _do?_ "

 _Well, crap_.

* * *

Adrien managed to tell her the rest of the story- or, rather, the rest of what he knew, what little Mr. Agreste had told him before he ran off- between sniffles, wiping his face on his sleeve until Marinette got up long enough to snag a box of tissues, the trash can, and a clean hand towel. Her mom ducked back in briefly, dropping off a fuzzy blanket that Marinette promptly wrapped Adrien up in, tucking in the corners so that he was bundled up nice and warm.

The whole story- Mr. Agreste being Hawkmoth, and trying to save Mrs. Agreste, who had apparently fallen into a magically induced coma after using the Peacock for- well, _something_. Adrien hadn't exactly stuck around to listen to all of the details.

Marinette couldn't blame him. Having everything dumped on him- because Marinette didn't doubt that it _was_ dumped, considering that _tactful_ was pretty much the last word she would ever use to describe Mr. Agreste- all at once would have been absolutely overwhelming, and considering how _awful_ Hawkmoth had been, especially of late... well, what reaction was Mr. Agreste _hoping_ to get from his son? Surely he hadn't thought that Adrien would just immediately hop on board.

"And the thing is, I had _totally_ been looking forward to whatever he was going to say," Adrien said, breaking the silence. His head had come to rest against hers. "Like, he was there and kneeling on the ground with me, and I thought that- well, he and Nathalie have seemed really close lately and I thought that maybe that he was going to tell me that he was actually doing the healthy thing and moving on from Mom with Nathalie and maybe we could start moving towards being a _family_ again. But _no_ , he just up and tells me that he's a supervillain, _surprise_ , and he's actually known where Mom was this entire time, and- oh, he's not close to Nathalie because he's moving on, he's close because she's his supervillain assistant, I bet! There's no _way_ -" he paused to blow his nose-" no _way_ that she isn't Mayura. I just _know_ it."

...if it weren't for the fact that Adrien was hurting so badly, Marinette would be _thrilled_ by all of this new information. She was Ladybug after all, and finding out who Hawkmoth was...well, it was what they had wanted from the start. She and Chat Noir would be able to _do_ something about the root of the problem then, instead of just fighting every akuma that appeared and being resigned to the fact that there would be another akuma coming along again, and another, and another, and another, an endless stream. Finding out Hawkmoth's identity-it was what they had _wanted_.

But it was hurting Adrien. Instead of being excited like she should be about the break in the case... well, Marinette was too worried about what would happen to Adrien and how the whole thing would impact him.

There would be no way for her and Chat Noir to take down Hawkmoth and finish things without hurting Adrien. At this point, well, it would just be a matter of trying to _minimize_ the hurt.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," Marinette murmured. She would have pulled him closer, but she had already pulled him as close as he could be. Instead, she turned her head so that her forehead was pressed against the side of his face. "My family will be here for you, I can promise that. And all of us at school. You're not alone."

Adrien just nodded. They fell quiet again, just sitting together and listening to the bakery sounds. After a couple minutes, though, Marinette frowned. There was an unfamiliar voice getting closer, accompanied by her mom.

It- it wasn't Nathalie, she _thought._ The voice wasn't quite as businesslike and emotionless, and surely her mom would know better than to let Mr. Agreste or Nathalie in without asking first. Marinette lifted her head, listening more closely as the voices got clearer.

"We saw news about my nephew nearly getting run over by a dozen cars, so of _course_ I had to investigate," the other woman's voice was saying, sharp and taut. There was a vein of worry running though, easy enough to pick out even from where they were. "It took a little bit to work our way through traffic and figure out where he had gone. I do apologize for crashing in, but..."

"No, that's fine," Mrs. Cheng assured her. The voices were nearly at the door, and Marinette glanced over at Adrien. He was wiping his eyes, turning to stare at the door. There was a spark of interest in his eyes, hope and eagerness battling their way past the shock and betrayal and misery. "I can understand being concerned. I certainly would be, if I saw that happen with my daughter." They were at the door now, and Marinette watched as her mom reached out and knocked before opening it up and sticking her head in. "Adrien? Your aunt and cousin are here, do you want to see them?"

Marinette turned to Adrien, ready to step in if he was about to try to go along just to make other people happy, regardless of his own wishes. But he looked willing enough, so she didn't have to step in when he nodded.

As soon as Mrs. Cheng stepped to the side, Adrien's aunt swished into the room. As soon as she did, Marinette _stared_.

She- she looked _just_ like Adrien's mom. Like, _exactly_.

 _Uh_.

"Adrien, _darling_ ," his aunt exclaimed, swooping down on Adrien to hug him. Marinette ended up jostled a little to the side, but she didn't care about that. Behind Adrien's aunt, his cousin wandered in, looking somewhat concerned. Mrs. Cheng exchanged a look and a wave with Marinette before she retreated, closing the door to the break room behind her. The room was a bit cramped now, not meant for four people plus the couch _and_ the table. "Felix and I saw you running away from the mansion and we wanted to come check on you. What _happened?_ "

Adrien exchanged a look with Marinette, and in a heartbeat, Marinette understood his expression. He wanted to tell them- presumably he was confident enough that his aunt didn't already _know_ about his father's less-than-fabulous side gig, but, well, telling them here and now...

Something told Marinette that Adrien's aunt might not have the quietest of reactions when finding out the news about her sister and brother-in-law, and- well, there were enough people around in the bakery that could overhear.

"Should we go upstairs to our living room, maybe?" Marinette suggested. She squeezed Adrien's hand. "If you can get up there now?"

"I think so, yeah," Adrien agreed. He managed to get to his feet, his struggle mostly- as far as Marinette could tell- because of the blanket still wrapped around him. "Let's get upstairs, and then I can talk."

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Amèlie Graham de Vanily was _not_ happy to hear about who was behind Hawkmoth's mask. She was also not thrilled to learn that he had known where her twin sister was all of this time and hadn't bothered to let anyone else know, and she was _furious_ to hear Adrien recount the number of times his father had endangered him as Hawkmoth, both indirectly when he just happened to be in the area and directly, with akumas that were hell-bent on targeting Adrien directly.

Surprisingly, she wanted to do something about it. _Herself_. Even though it would be dangerous, Marinette had warned, and hard to do. After all, Ladybug and Chat Noir had been fighting Hawkmoth and Mayura and their supervillains for ages now, and they hadn't had _nearly_ as much luck as they might have hoped. So wouldn't it make sense to pass the information on to them, and let them deal with the situation?

Amèlie wasn't convinced.

"He has my _sister,_ " she insisted again, clearly determined. "Maybe the two of us haven't always seen eye-to-eye on everything- and I never _did_ like Gabriel, there's _always_ been something off about him- but I'm not going to let him dishonor her memory like this. If there's a chance that something that can be done to save her- if the superheroes have more information about magic than Gabriel does- then we need to get her out and be able to ask them. If she's past saving- well, it would be kinder to lay her to rest, then. It's heartbreaking, of course, to lose _anyone_ , but dragging it out instead of letting them pass on...well, that's not kind to anyone."

Marinette looked from her to Felix, who looked far more like a lost kid than he had before. Something- the fact that they were dressed in black, that she had caught a murmur about missing a funeral as they headed up the stairs, that Amèlie's husband hadn't been mentioned at all- told her that Amèlie was speaking from experience.

"So we should get more information, if we can," Amèlie continued. She was tapping her chin with a finger, clearly already in planning mode. Marinette recognized that expression well, since Ladybug wore it all the time when she was coming up with a Plan. "Adrien, clearly he was willing to tell you more- but I can tell that you aren't exactly in a state to try to pry. So if we _switch_ you and Felix- only if the two of you are willing, darlings."

To Marinette's surprise, Felix nodded at once. "I can do that. It'll be easy."

Adrien looked more hesitant. "But if he figures it out- he has magic powers, Felix, it's _dangerous!"_

"I can play a part as necessary." Felix told them. His lost look had been replaced by determination and- oh, Marinette recognized _that_ look. It was the same kind of look that she had seen Chloe give her mom, that eagerness to help and please a parent to get their approval. At least Amèlie seemed more receptive than Audrey Bourgeois. "And if Mom wants me to try to find out what happened with Aunt Emilie, then I will."

Amèlie nodded, pleased. "And Adrien? I know that you've been through a shock, but..."

"But time is important." Adrien let out a shaky breath, and his fingers clung to Marinette tightly for a moment. "I- I can do it. For Mom. And if we switch, it'll be Felix who has the hard job, anyway."

"I can manage. I was in the theater club- well, _before_." Another flash of Felix's miserable expression from earlier crossed his face before it fell back into his neutral expression. "While we switch clothes, you can catch me up on how to act like you. That's the most important part when playing a character."

Amèlie giggled. "I thought you _hated_ theater club, darling. You always complained that it was a waste of time."

"Yes, well." An embarrassed expression flashed across his face. "It serves its purpose."

"You can use my room to switch clothes," Marinette offered. She gestured towards the stairs. "Since our bathroom is a bit cramped."

Felix nodded, rising at once. "Fantastic. Mom, can I borrow...?"

Amèlie nodded, digging in her purse at once and passing over a small bag. "Of course. Be thorough, of course, but the faster of a turnaround we can have, the better. And I'm going to go talk to Gerald so that he doesn't tip off Gabriel and Nathalie. With any luck, he hasn't already reached out."

Marinette winced at the thought. They were _so close_ to finding out everything about Hawkmoth. To have their plan derailed by Adrien's well-meaning bodyguard...

As Amèlie headed back downstairs, Adrien and Felix headed up to her room. Marinette had a moment to wince- she hadn't cleaned up her Adrien posters at _all_ , that wasn't going to look good and something told her that Felix was the sort to notice and comment about something like that- and then she forcefully pushed the thought away, trying to put her Ladybug hat on and focus on what _needed_ to be done.

Obviously, she wanted to reach out to Master Fu and let him know. They would probably want a team of superheroes for the final stand-off, for sure, but question now was which _ones_. The Snake would _definitely_ be helpful, in case anything went wrong, and maybe the Fox for illusions, and the Turtle for protection, and the Bee- well, she might pick someone other than Chloe, because if Chloe got to be part of the final battle when she had done _nothing_ to deserve the honor of wielding a Miraculous, _especially_ considering how she had bullied Marc and Nathaniel about their comic only two days ago, she would be _insufferable_. Marinette could see Chloe now, bragging about how _she_ was special enough to help defeat Hawkmoth and all of the rest of them were just lame-o civilians.

Chloe should never have been a superhero in the first place, and the only reason why Marinette had kept going back to her was because Chloe had experience with using the Miraculous and the Bee's powers, and it was hard to think of a new person to use the Bee when they were under a time crunch. But now...

Adrien probably wouldn't want to be involved, since it _was_ his father that they were going up against and he might not be able to go in for the hit. But his aunt and cousin seemed like they would happily go to bat for him (or at least Amèlie would go to bat for her sister, and Felix would do anything if it made his mom happy, which...well, it seemed to amount to the same thing in the end), so maybe she could consider them as potential Bees. But she also didn't _know_ them very well, and had only spent maybe ten minutes with them _max_. There was a danger there, a risk that Marinette wasn't sure if she wanted to take. Both Graham de Vanilys were a bit unpredictable and hard to read at times, which, well…

Maybe it would be better if she tapped her _own_ mom instead.

Deciding that she could probably wait to decide for sure until _after_ Felix finished his information-finding mission, Marinette pulled out her phone instead, drafting her text to Master Fu several times before deciding that it was good enough as it was. She hit _send_ just as Amèlie entered the room, looking pleased.

"Gerald let me know that Gabriel instructed him to take a detour to try to find Adrien instead of dropping us off at the house first," she told Marinette. "And since Adrien seemed so upset, he figured that he wouldn't say anything yet without finding out the _why_. So I asked him not to let Gabriel know at all, and we would explain later." She smiled, triumphant as she dropped gracefully onto the couch. "It's perfect, really. Gerald seems like he's far more loyal to Adrien than to Gabriel, so he's willing to work with us. Once we have Felix go over in Adrien's place, Nathalie will text Gerald and we can come in like normal, not suspicious at all."

Marinette still had some concerns. Sure, Gabriel Agreste was an absentee parent at best, sure, but Adrien and Felix were _cousins_. Just because Mr. Agreste rarely saw his son in person didn't mean that he wouldn't recognize that there was something _off_. If Adrien and Felix hadn't seen each other in- well, it sounded like it had been a couple years- even if they somehow managed to look similar enough to fool Mr. Agreste, there were bound to be some behavioral differences.

"I hope the boys can work fast," Amèlie commented, glancing upwards. "I _do_ worry that the longer we spend getting set up, the more suspicious Gabriel will be. And with something like this... well, he's already bound to be on edge."

Almost on cue, the trapdoor up above swung open and Adrien and Felix came down. Marinette turned around to see how their swap had gone, and then her jaw _dropped_.

Had- had they swapped at _all?_ Because if they _had_ , that was _insane_.

"One would think that you two had been practicing or something," Amèlie said with a laugh. She accepted her bag back from "Adrien", glancing in before zipping it shut and tucking it in her purse. "Your makeup skills are _amazing_. Even I can't tell the difference, except- Adrien, you have a little powder on your collar." She reached forward towards "Felix", brushing off a few specks before considering them. " _Very_ good."

Marinette could only squeak. They _had_ swapped, then. Clearly she didn't need to worry about Mr. Agreste immediately noticing something was off just by sight, because she had seen Adrien every day at school (...and in heavily-inspected pictures on her wall every day, school day or no) and had thought that they hadn't actually swapped at all, which, uh...

(She wasn't saying that she knew Adrien's face better than his own father, just... well, she actually _saw_ him and paid attention to him more than his own father.)

"I'd like to try to steal the Miraculous, if I get the opportunity," Felix said, straightening his sleeve cuff in a _very_ un-Adrien-like manner. Adrien bumped his cousin's arm, giving him a _Look_ , and Felix stopped at once. "I'm very good at slight-of-hand, so I feel like it wouldn't be an impossibility."

Marinette blinked. "Uh..."

"What _is_ the Miraculous, do we know? And where does he wear it?" Felix's gaze slid from Adrien to Marinette, then back. "Or is all of that entirely a mystery?"

"The Butterfly Miraculous is a brooch," Marinette told him, even though she still had some _serious_ concerns. "But, uh..."

"He wears it under his tie," Adrien told Felix. He was frowning. "But it would be _really_ hard for you to get without being suspicious. Even if he thinks that you're me, he's going to be really protective of it. And it's not like _you_ have a Miraculous to protect yourself if he catches on!"

"I would only try if I saw a good opportunity," Felix assured him. "I am not about to take unnecessary risks. After all, you have Ladybug and Chat Noir to take care of the supervillains once you let them know who is cowering behind those masks. But I _do_ like a challenge, so it's just something to keep in mind."

His mom just sighed, clearly used to Felix's attitude. "All right, as long as you make sure not to try any big gambles. Boys, I think it's time that we head out, so that Mr. Agreste doesn't get any more suspicious about Adrien's absence than he no doubt already is. Marinette, it was nice meeting you, and hopefully we'll get to see you again before Felix and I head back to London. Thank you for keeping Adrien safe."

"Of course," Marinette said, about to shoot a soft look at Adrien before thinking better of it. It would just be _weird_ when Adrien and Felix were dressed up as each other. "Good luck, you guys. Stay safe. And Adrien, let me know how it goes. If you want to come over again, our door is open."

Adrien smiled, small and soft as Amèlie ushered both him and Felix towards the door. "Thanks, Marinette."

With one last wave, they were out, the door swinging shut behind them. Marinette let out a long breath, practically collapsing back onto the couch. That- that had been a _lot_ to take in.

And from the sounds of it, the information that Adrien had gotten before he had bolted had only been the tip of the iceberg. There would be more coming soon, as long as Felix was successful, and _that_ promised to be practically as overwhelming as this discovery had been.

 _Yikes_.

After a moment, Marinette forced herself to her feet, getting up and going over to the window to watch the scene below, just in time to see the small group exit through their side door. Tikki floated up by Marinette's shoulder, watching them go. Felix, dressed as Adrien, headed back through the park, the picture of composure. On the sidewalk, Amèlie and Adrien were headed into the bakery, buying pastries to give Felix a little time before they showed up.

"I think that we should be ready to go over to the mansion," Tikki said after a moment. "And be ready to claim the Butterfly right away, if they manage to get the Miraculous like Felix wanted to. Adrien's aunt and cousin seemed nice enough, but they _have_ just recently gone through a loss and they might not be thinking clearly. If they give in to temptation..."

"Right." Marinette turned away from the window, looking at her kwami again. She would have to text the rest of the class and let them know that they couldn't make it after all. "But the likelihood that Felix will actually get the Miraculous? I mean, there'd pretty much have to be the perfect conditions for him to even get close, right?"

"Honestly?" Tikki glanced out the window again, watching Felix walk away. "Not _really_. But with a little help…." She turned to Marinette, determination in her eyes. "Let's go over to the little park across from Adrien's house, and I'll go in. With a little luck- with a little help- they might just be able to pull this off."


	2. Chapter 2

Felix had had his story all ready when he stepped in the house. He had been taken off guard by the news, of course, and had run on impulse. Ever since the first akuma had showed up all he had heard was about how much of a villain Hawkmoth was, so of _course_ his first reaction wasn't to be all-in. But he had had time to sit alone and think about it, and- well, he wanted his mom back, of course, just like his father did. And magic _could_ do that, so- well, he wanted to know more, and to see his mom, if possible. After all, it had been _ages_ , and he missed her.

And Adrien's father and Nathalie _ate it up_. There was no suspicion at _all_.

Seriously, how were these people _supervillains?_ Sure, Felix was confident in his acting abilities- that was why he had agreed to this whole thing in the first place, because he was positive that he would be able to weasel his way through the situation- but he had figured that there would be more persuasion involved, them drilling him to make sure that he wasn't about to run off again and immediately report them to someone once he knew more. There had been _some_ questions, sure- they had wanted to know if he had told anyone, to which they got a _very_ quick "no!"- but nothing like what he had expected. Apparently the desire to see his mom again made "Adrien" turning to the dark side _completely_ believable.

And then his mom and Adrien- or, sorry, _"Felix"_ \- arrived, and they had to interact normally, but as each other.

(At least Adrien had thought to have them practice that part in Marinette's room after they switched clothes. If they hadn't...well, Felix had _far_ less confidence in _Adrien's_ acting abilities, even if Adrien was the one between the two of them to do voice acting and shoot commercials.)

"This is nice and all, but Adrien and I were in the middle of something before you arrived," Mr. Agreste said after a few minutes of- well, admittedly awkward conversation. Felix's mom had apparently decided to continue on with the main reason for their visit- getting back the rings- and that was making Mr. Agreste less than thrilled. It probably _was_ keeping him from getting suspicious, though, considering that Amèlie could have a one-track mind when she wanted to and her _not_ bringing the topic up would be strange. It was a trait that ran in the family, really, so Felix refused to consider it a bad thing. "If you could, ah, wait-"

"They could hang out in my room!" Felix blurted, mimicking what he could remember of his cousin's eagerness as best he could. He gestured widely up the stairs. "There's a foosball table, and, uh..." He wracked his brain. What else _had_ Adrien told him was in his room? Hopefully things hadn't changed _too_ much since his last visit. "A climbing wall, and- well, you'll see."

"Thank you, Adrien!" Amèlie told Felix, beaming. She placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder, clearly ready to guide him up to the room, and then cast a disparaging look at Mr. Agreste. "Hopefully we'll get to hang out with you soon enough. Don't keep my nephew from me for _too_ long, Gabriel."

Mr. Agreste only gave a short jerk of his head that _might_ be interpreted as a nod, landing a heavy hand on Felix's shoulder and steering him forcefully towards what- if Felix was remembering correctly- was his office. Nathalie shut the door behind them, flipping the lock.

For the first time, Felix was nervous. This wasn't going to end in, like, human sacrifice or something, was it? It was all fine before, when they were around other people, but now Felix was on his own. If something went sideways...

No. His uncle wouldn't hurt the boy who he _believed_ was his own son, right? Right-

- _no_. In a flash, Felix remembered what Adrien had said that had gotten his mom so enraged. Adrien had been attacked by akumas before- _targeted_ by akumas, even, and Mr. Agreste had akumatized _himself_ and attacked Adrien. Maybe it was just because stuff would likely be put back at the end of the attacks and so a little danger was considered acceptable, but that didn't exactly make Felix any less nervous.

"Your mother is down below the house," Mr. Agreste told Felix, guiding him to a specific section of floor in front of a painting of his aunt. It was weird. "We'll have to take the elevator. It's really only designed for one person, but we can make it work for two."

"An elevator? Where?" Felix asked at once, glancing around. He wasn't seeing any doors around in the too-open, too-clinical room. "In here?"

"In the floor, obviously." Mr. Agreste leaned forward, pressing several spots on the painting- _buttons!_ Before Felix had a chance to memorize the pattern, they were going down, down, down. They passed another track that headed to the side and then- if Felix's eyes weren't deceiving him in the dark- upwards, and just kept going down.

Felix had decided: he Did Not Like This.

"It was quite difficult to get all of this installed without anyone noticing," Mr. Agreste commented idly as the elevator went down. "I had to call in a foreign company, make some payments to keep them quiet- not that they ever _saw_ your mother or her condition. I had to keep her in one of the back rooms for a bit- it was _quite_ dicey, making sure that neither you nor the household staff went back there. But the cavern already existed, and _some_ of the scaffolding, so it wasn't _quite_ as expensive as I had worried."

Felix had to struggle not to comment at that. How much of the money he had spent had _actually_ belonged to Mr. Agreste, and how much had come from the Graham de Vanily family fortune? Surely he wasn't making _that_ much money off of the fashion business, considering that everything _Gabriel_ sold was either regular clothes with a brand stamped on them and sold at a huge markup, or absolutely _hideous_ "fashion" that Mr. Agreste dreamed up, at least as far as Felix knew. The quality of the designs had _definitely_ taken a turn for the worse after his aunt vanished, which suggested that either she had been doing a fair bit of designing herself or had simply been in charge of the editing.

"It was quite hard to keep you from noticing, of course, but I had hoped to pull off this whole thing without you knowing at all." Mr. Agreste paused as the elevator slowed and they descended into a _huge_ cavern. Felix was not particularly comfortable knowing that this existed under his cousin's family's mansion- like, who had decided to build a _house_ over this? It should have just been a park, and that way when the ground inevitably decided to collapse, there at least wouldn't be a _building_ over it. "But it has dragged on for long enough now that I- well, Nathalie, at least- thought it might be a good idea to let you in on the secret, and you can be our eyes and ears on the outside."

"What do you mean, Father?" Felix asked, cringing on the inside. Having to call someone else- and someone as _awful_ as Gabriel Agreste- _father_ , so soon after his own dad had died...well, he would rather pass. But if he wanted to act convincing, he needed to address Mr. Agreste just like Adrien would. At least Adrien normally called Mr. Agreste _father_ instead of _dad_ , because Felix _really_ wouldn't have been able to stomach that. Perhaps the two words were technically very similar, but it was just _different_. "How could I possibly be any more helpful than any news coverage? The Ladyblog has _quite_ a bit of content."

"It has dropped in both quality and quantity recently. Both because your friend Alya has decided to trust Ms. Rossi and her stories, and because she's become so distracted by that DJ boyfriend of hers that she's not following the attacks as often." Mr. Agreste sniffed, leading the way off of the elevator even before it fully came to a stop "Typical teenaged romance single-mindedness. Foolish, and something that they will no doubt regret later on. They have become blind to everything _except_ for each other."

Felix glanced away as though he was uncomfortable with how his- well, Adrien's- friends were being discussed, but inside he was trying not to roll his eyes. Adrien's friends were obsessed with each other? _That_ was rich coming from the guy who had turned into a supervillain in an attempt to save his wife and had rather deliberately put his son in danger multiple times for the same reason.

(Also, this cavern was _insane_. There were rusting metal walkways over moving water below, and an opening somewhere up above that was shining light down at the cluster of plants at the far end, and- well, it was _weird_.)

"But you, Nathalie, and I can discuss specifics later," Mr. Agreste told him. "I know Nathalie had some ideas. It _will_ require working in tandem with Ms. Rossi- she's one of my allies, though I don't know how much she suspects."

Felix blinked. "How- how much she _suspects?_ What have you told her?"

"Very little. She is acting on my requests as Mr. Agreste- requests to deliberately get people upset enough to akumatize. Oh, don't _look_ like that, you know that it causes no lasting harm," Mr. Agreste snapped when surprise and disgust slipped onto Felix's face. "And she is slippery enough to smooth things over again afterwards. But she's also been _very_ cooperative with Hawkmoth, agreeing to become akumatized even without emotions clouding her judgment." He sent Felix a considering look. "You could do the same, actually. I'm sure it's something that Nathalie has thought of. With cooperative akumas, I can plan a design and powers in advance, instead of having to come up with them on the fly."

...Felix did not like this _Ms. Rossi_ character already. He also wasn't sure _who_ she was- she wasn't one of the people that Adrien had mentioned- and he didn't want to say anything that would give that away.

"But enough about that. You wanted to see your mother." Mr. Agreste headed up the walkway, shoes clicking with every step. "This way, stop dithering about. We don't have any time to waste- your aunt will start nosing around if we take too long, no doubt, and I shudder to think of what _her_ reaction might be if she gets wind of this." Even from behind, his scowl was evident. "She's too nosy for her own good. The sooner she and your cousin leave, the better."

Felix had to force back the absolute _rage_ at that. How _dare_ his uncle call his mom _nosy._ Granted, maybe she sometimes was- he got irritated with her prying at times, he was a teenager and wanted his secrets, darn it- but for Mr. Agreste to say that, as though what he was doing wasn't a hundred times worse?

It was _absolutely_ hypocritical.

"And here we are," Mr. Agreste announced, stopping in front of a tube... _thing_. He pressed a button, and the sides retracted to leave a glass case, with Emilie Agreste laying inside on a padded surface, deathly still.

It brought back memories in a rush, memories that Felix would have rather stayed _deep_ inside. Memories of his father laying in a coffin- narrower than this one, to be sure, and wood instead of metal and glass- but with that same cream-colored silk padding and arranged in that same position, down to the flower bouquet held in his hands. Those waxy, too-pale cheeks, everything a little too neat and perfectly done up to truly look alive.

He wanted to be _sick_. Why couldn't Mr. Agreste have his wife on a bed, or at least in something far less _coffin_ -like?

"She _is_ alive," Mr. Agreste was saying, stepping closer to the foot of the- he was going to call it a _chamber_ , Felix decided- and resting a hand there. "And the machines- they're to keep her stable. She was using the Peacock Miraculous even though it was broken. She was _trying_ to be helpful, and this is where she ended up." He gazed up at his wife, clear longing on his face before he shook it off, his expression shuttering as he turned back to Felix. "Once I get the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous- well, I want to use the ultimate power to change history, so that she wouldn't end up here."

"Won't there be a price, though?" Felix asked. He and Adrien had talked about it while they were swapping outfits and hairstyles and buffing out the few differences in their facial features with makeup, and Adrien had assumed that any wish made with the two main Miraculous had to result in kickback _somewhere_. Frankly, Felix had to agree with his cousin's assumption. That made a _lot_ of sense. "A consequence for changing things?"

Mr. Agreste shrugged. "Perhaps. But I'm not going to concern myself about that right now. My kwami, Nooroo, had been _most_ unhelpful about giving me information about that!" His voice rose with every word and Felix cringed back automatically.

He wasn't _ever_ going to be jealous of his cousin ever again. Maybe they had both lost a parent- and maybe there was a possibility that Adrien's mom wasn't _completely_ lost- but at least Felix's remaining parent _cared_ about him. She wouldn't raise her voice, and she wouldn't look at him like Mr. Agreste had looked at "Adrien", all closed off and uncaring.

If Felix hadn't already felt bad for his initial plan to screw up his cousin's reputation as payback for Adrien not coming to Felix's father's funeral before, he _definitely_ would now. It couldn't have been more obvious that his cousin already had enough to deal with.

"Master, I'm not allowed to say more!" a high-pitched voice protested, and Felix startled as a small purple _creature_ appeared over Mr. Agreste's shoulder. "And it's unpredictable, and-"

"That's _enough_." Mr. Agreste swatted away the small fairy, focusing back on Felix. "I will interrogate Ladybug and Chat Noir's kwamis once I get my hands on them, and I will find out the best way to go forward. You don't need to worry about that."

Felix would _beg_ to disagree, but he thought that it was probably not the best time to knock heads with Mr. Agreste. So he decided to turn to a different topic.

"What was Mom trying to do with the Peacock?" Felix asked, glancing back up at his aunt. "Who was she trying to help?"

Mr. Agreste frowned deeply, letting out a loud sigh. "She was trying to come up with a magic solution to cure your uncle's illness, to help him and possibly you and your cousin as well." He glanced up at Emilie again. "She fell into a coma before the test results came back telling us that neither of the two of you had inherited the genes for his disease."

Felix blinked. He knew that _he_ had gotten tested to see if he had the genetic disposition to get the same illness that had killed his dad, but why- why would _Adrien?_ They were related on his _mom's_ side, not his dad's. "Inherited _his_ disease? How- how would h- _I_ inherit Uncle's..."

Mr. Agreste spared him a short look. "There were fertility issues, I thought we told you this before, Adrien. I mean, perhaps we didn't mention that your uncle helped out, but I thought that would be obvious enough."

 _Wait_. He and Adrien were genetically _brothers?_

Well, that would explain how they looked similar enough to pass for each other with a clothes change, a hairstyle switch, and a little bit of hasty contouring with some makeup to cover up the few differences. Felix had known that technically, if one just considered genetics, that the two of them would be half-brothers since their moms were identical twins, but _this_...

Well. Felix _had_ wondered how he and Adrien had ended up looking so alike when their fathers looked absolutely nothing like each other.

 _"Ah,"_ Felix managed instead, deciding not to make any comments about how really, it was probably for the better that Mr. Agreste hadn't been able to have kids. Unlike Felix's own father, Mr. Agreste was- well. Not exactly model material, to say the least. "That- yes, okay."

He would have to ask Adrien how much he knew about the whole _fertility issues_ thing, because _he_ had never been told. That- that seemed like the kind of thing that would be _really_ important to mention, like, _years_ ago.

Also, did Mr. Agreste ever share information with his son in a way that _didn't_ involve dumping it in one abrupt, overwhelming go? That seemed like it might be somewhat damaging.

"I'll admit, we should have done an exam for potential health problems first and made sure that everything came back healthy, but your aunt and uncle offered and Emilie seemed quite fond of the idea, so we were a bit lax on our screening." Mr. Agreste's face pinched, clearly irritated. "Not that it would have been easily available at the time, anyway. Add in the fact that we were rather fond of the idea of _knowing_ the donor, instead of having it be some faceless, homely nobody who might have a dozen kids already across the country, and- well, never mind that. Your screening came back clear, after all, and with Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous, we will fix the damage from the broken Peacock and get your mother back."

"I- right."

"But I think that's enough information for now. We don't want your aunt to come snooping because we're taking too long." With another press of a button, metal shutters closed over the glass chamber and Gabriel Agreste turned, leading the way back up the walkway. Felix glanced back once before hurrying after him, trying his best not to fall behind. "With your help, now, we'll be able to get the Miraculous in no time and have your mom back with us. Like I said, it will very likely involve you working with Ms. Rossi, and I expect you to be on your best behavior with her. If we can get Ms. Dupain-Cheng akumatized...she has avoided my butterflies on more than one occasion now. I suspect that she would make _quite_ the powerful akuma. Her creativity could make her more than a match for Ladybug."

Felix only _just_ hid his disgust at that, instead turning a distressed look on Mr. Agreste. "But- but Marinette is my _friend!_ "

"Akumatization causes no long-term harm, Adrien, we have _already_ been over this. And I thought it would be obvious enough already considering how many times some of your other friends have been akumatized. It's not as though her akumatization would be any different." Mr. Agreste sent him an exasperated look. "If it would distress you that much to upset Ms. Dupain-Cheng, then Ms. Rossi can take care of that bit. You would just need to stay out of the way and _not_ rush after her to try to offer comfort."

Felix knew full well that Adrien would _never_ agree to that, not after Marinette had pulled him in and offered comfort during his breakdown. Still, he had to agree- or at least _pretend_ to. "I- I'll try."

Mr. Agreste's lips flattened. "No, Adrien, you _will_. There is no _try_. I am not asking for an impossibility here."

Felix swallowed a sigh. He wasn't surprised, really. "Yes... father."

"Good. And I plan to change the timeline, to keep your mother from ever falling into a coma in the first place, so Ms. Dupain-Cheng won't even remember her akumatization." They stepped onto the platform, and Mr. Agreste tapped the button that would take them back up. Felix tried his best not to scowl as they ascended into the dark tunnel again, trapped with no space to step back and away from the madman that was his uncle. "So you see, I am not the villain after all. Paris will not remember this, if all goes to plan, and we will have your mom again."

For a moment, Felix was almost tempted to forget the whole _stop Hawkmoth_ thing. If Mr. Agreste changed the timeline- would he change it so that the Peacock wouldn't be broken, and Mrs. Agreste might actually be able to find a cure before his dad died? After all, it sounded like she had been trying to find a cure for _all_ of them, not just in case Adrien had the same condition. But...

Well, all signs pointed to it not being a particularly good idea for him to trust Mr. Agreste's stories. He was _clearly_ a madman, and it was _incredibly_ likely that there would be consequences for such serious magical tampering. Maybe their immediate family wouldn't see those impacts- or maybe they _would_ , and Felix would lose _his_ mom instead- but either way, Felix knew deep inside that his dad wouldn't approve.

They went up and up, and Felix turned his attention to his secondary plan- stealing the Miraculous. Adrien had guessed that it was hidden under that _hideous_ ascot- not that he had actually _seen_ the pin, he was just assuming based on where he had seen Hawkmoth wear his Miraculous- and getting it unnoticed would be difficult unless he could figure out a plan. Maybe he could pretend to lose his balance and fall against Mr. Agreste, but how to make that look _realistic..._

Despite his earlier show of confidence, stealing the Miraculous was always going to be a long shot. Rings were easy, and bracelets. But pins, and particularly hidden ones?

Felix shifted, shuffling his feet as though uncomfortable- and _that_ wasn't hard to act at all- and was about to 'trip' over his own feet when the elevator gave a sudden jolt. Felix's carefully-planned 'fall' turned into a real one, right against Mr. Agreste's chest.

And as luck had it, right against the bottom edge of Mr. Agreste's ascot. As the elevator gave another jolt- good god, _please_ don't let it _actually_ break now- Felix let his hand slide under the ascot (a _clip-on_ , how utterly tasteless and embarrassing for a _fashion designer_ ) and felt the bottom of a pin at once- hopefully the Miraculous, and not just a normal pin. As Mr. Agreste's attention was on cursing out the elevator system and trying to keep them upright and not getting their clothes caught in the few bits of exposed machinery, the pin practically shifted itself into his hand and Felix unpinned the Miraculous, letting it slip out of his hand and up his sleeve, trying not to flinch as the pin suddenly changed shape.

Somehow, miraculously, it was mission complete. And his uncle seemed none the wiser.

With one more jolt, the elevator started moving normally again, just as though the near-breakdown hadn't happened. Felix frowned against the darkness, then narrowed his eyes when he caught a glimpse of something small and dark up above, something that vanished into the shadows before he had a chance to get a better look. There was another flicker of movement on the other side of the tunnel, but it too vanished before Felix could figure out what it was.

"Do- do we have rats?" Felix asked, still frowning into the darkness as they continued upwards. "I thought I just saw something."

"Perhaps. The cavern is not exactly completely insulated from the world, so while I shudder to consider it, it's not impossible. Did you see something?"

Felix shrugged, taking a step back- well, as much of a step as he _could_ , without risking stepping too far back and into the walls they were moving past- and letting his hands fall by his sides again. The Miraculous slid back down his sleeve and into his hand, and Felix pocketed it at once. "I thought I saw something small moving along the side of the tunnel, but it's too dark to see."

Mr. Agreste just let out a noncommittal _hmm_.

After another few seconds, the floor above split and they ascended into the office. Nathalie glanced up as the elevator platform clicked into place on the floor, giving them a brief smile and nod before returning to her work. Felix stepped away from Mr. Agreste at once, giving himself a bit of breathing room.

"I don't think that I have to remind you not to tell _anyone_ ," Mr. Agreste instructed him sternly. "Don't make me regret trusting you. I know that you want your mother back as badly as I do, and this is what we _need_ to do. The opinions of the city do not matter."

"Of course, Father," Felix lied at once, very aware of the weight of the Butterfly Miraculous against his leg. "Should I go check on Felix and Aunt Amèlie now?"

Mr. Agreste nodded, leading the way over to the door and unlocking it. "That would probably be for the best. If my memory serves me correctly, your cousin has rather sticky fingers. You wouldn't want too many things to go missing."

Felix very nearly felt offended, but then promptly remembered that his _original_ plan for their visit to the Agrestes had included snitching his cousin's phone and just now, he _had_ stolen his uncle's magic jewelry and was planning on trying to steal his ring for his mom if possible.

Maybe he _did_ have somewhat sticky fingers, but only when he had a goal. It wasn't as though he was a common pickpocket.

"Of course, Father," Felix said again, stepping out of the room. "Will we see you at dinner?"

"No, I've wasted _quite_ enough of the day already, so I'll be taking my meals in the office as usual," Mr. Agreste told him. He scowled. "No matter _what_ opinions your aunt has on the matter."

Felix tried not to smirk. His mom would _absolutely_ be vocal about that, and it would be hilarious to see the face-off. Mr. Agreste well deserved her ire, after all. "Right. I'll see you later, then."

He didn't get a response, and he hadn't expected one. After lingering another half-second, Felix trotted up to Adrien's room, hoping that his memory would serve him right and his cousin hadn't changed rooms or anything since he had last visited. Thankfully, the door handle he remembered gave, and Felix stepped into the room that he remembered, excessive even by rich people standards. His mom and Adrien were there, hovering anxiously by the door. They both let out a sigh of relief when they saw Felix, letting him into the room at once and locking the door behind him.

"How did it go?" Amèlie wanted to know at once, ushering him further into the room and handing over a makeup wipe and a comb so that Felix could start putting his appearance back to right. "Did you see Emilie? Did your uncle suspect anything?"

"Well as it could have, I suppose." Felix shrugged. He hadn't been ill despite the- well, despite the reminders of death and coffins that he _really_ hadn't needed- and Mr. Agreste hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. "I saw Aunt Emilie, yes, and I don't think he suspected anything, and, well..." Felix let a small smile slide onto his face, reaching into his pocket and pulling his hand back out, opening it where both his mom and Adrien could see. "I managed to grab _this_ when the elevator malfunctioned on the way back up."

The twin gasps _this_ time made Felix grin. Amèlie reached out as though to take it, then drew her hand back. "That- you're sure that's the Miraculous?"

"It sprouted wings after I grabbed it, so I assume so, yes." It had been _so_ hard not to react when he felt the brush of wings sprouting out of the Miraculous, but Felix had managed it. He tapped it, a little curious, but- _no_. He couldn't want it. He _wasn't_ going to be like his uncle. Felix _refused_. Besides, the Butterfly itself really couldn't do much beyond make tacky villains in an attempt to take Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous, and considering that his uncle had been trying and failing to do that for ages, the likelihood of Felix actually succeeding in a _much_ shorter timeframe- after all, a non-zero number of people knew about his plan to get the Miraculous- was pretty much nil. "And, well. I managed to get this set up before coming into the house, and it's a good thing, too."

Felix pulled his phone out of his pocket, finally hitting the _end_ button. The screen blinked up at him, announcing that he had been recording for just over forty minutes and his phone's storage was nearly full. It had been a last-minute idea, really, but he was glad that he had thought of it now. His uncle had said quite a few interesting things, and it would be important evidence soon enough.

Adrien grinned as soon as he recognized what Felix was holding. "That's great! More proof for Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"I'll make some copies of the file this evening," Felix told them. He turned his attention to Adrien. "Do you know of a _Lila Rossi?_ Apparently she was freely working with Hawkmoth."

Adrien's jaw _dropped_ , and then a slow grin spread onto his face. "No _way!_ That's great- I mean, it's- well, she's a terrible person," he hastened to explain. "She likes lying to get her way, and it's frustrating to listen to, but if we fight her, then she might get akumatized and cause a lot of problems. I know Marinette has been butting heads with her a lot, and Ladybug _loathes_ Lila, so for Lila to be ousted as willingly working with Hawkmoth..."

Felix smiled at that. "Yes, I gathered that she might not be the kindest character. Mr. Agreste was talking about having her deliberately upset people to get them akumatized, and apparently your friend Marinette was next on his hit list."

"He- _what?_ No, he had better stay _away_ from her, how _dare_ they go after Marinette-"

"Oh, is she your girlfriend?" Amèlie asked in delight. "I _did_ wonder, since you two seemed quite close, but I didn't want to pry, it didn't seem the time."

Adrien promptly turned pink, which seemed like a pretty clear answer to Felix, but he was also shaking his head. "No, I- we're friends! And she does so much for all of us, to help everyone out and keep people happy so that people don't get akumatized, and so for them to _target_ her..."

...yeah, Felix's cousin was pretty obviously sweet on this girl. Before Felix could call Adrien out on that, though, there was a knock on the window and Ladybug waved at them from the other side. Felix stepped that way, ready to hand over the Butterfly Miraculous at once, but Adrien stepped in front of him.

"I want to make sure that it's _actually_ Ladybug," Adrien murmured, just loud enough for Felix and his mom to hear but not Ladybug, who was still standing outside of the window. "The Peacock is still out, and we've seen some odd sentimonsters recently. You put yourself in danger to get this, and I don't want to lose the Miraculous right back to Nathalie again."

Felix nodded, letting Adrien take the lead. He wasn't sure how Adrien was planning on ensuring that this Ladybug was the real one, because Felix was _pretty_ sure that his cousin wouldn't know anything more about Ladybug than any other person in Paris did. He could admit, though, that the timing seemed pretty strange, since how would Ladybug know to come _now?_

"Hi, Ladybug," Adrien said, pushing open the window and stepping aside to let Ladybug in before Mr. Agreste or Nathalie could spot her on the security cameras. "Um, how are you?"

"I'm- well, I've had an interesting day," Ladybug said, rubbing the back of her head. "Marinette waved me down when I was out for a run- I had heard horns and yelling, so I thought that there was maybe an akuma out and so I was searching- and told me about your father and that, well..."

Adrien nodded. "That he's Hawkmoth."

"And that you were maybe going to try to get the Miraculous, if possible." Ladybug glanced between them. "So I was mostly curious about what more you had learned, and if you maybe...?"

Adrien nodded, then paused. "Ah, one quick question, just to be safe- when Jackady was attacking the house, what did I do when I got to my room?"

Ladybug blinked, clearly puzzled by the question, but only for a moment before her expression cleared in understanding and her cheeks turned pink. "You, uh, went to go take a shower."

"And what did we talk about after I came out?" Adrien asked, just as pink as Ladybug was. She smiled at him, bright and happy.

"I saw the picture of your mom on your computer screens...and I said that you had your mom's smile."

"Okay," Adrien said, nodding and flashing her a wide grin. "Thanks, I just- I just had to make sure."

Ladybug nodded, smiling back. "That's fine. I understand wanting to be careful, and I appreciate that. It's really smart."

There was a pause.

"I got the Miraculous," Felix announced when it seemed as though neither Ladybug nor his cousin were about to speak. He produced it from his pocket. "I understand the Peacock is still at large, but I didn't want to push my luck with trying to find it."

"It's not worth it, not when we know who has it," Ladybug agreed. She took the Butterfly Miraculous, popping open her yo-yo as she did. After another good look at the pin, she tucked it into the yo-yo and snapped it shut. "That's incredible that you were able to get it. I would have thought that Mr. Agreste would have been too protective of the Miraculous to let anyone get close to his neck."

"I got a lucky opening and I have practice swiping things unnoticed," Felix told her, ignoring the fact that anyone would be able to figure out that there wouldn't be many _positive_ applications of that particular skill. That was entirely beside the point. "I also got an audio recording of my entire experience with Mr. Agreste and our visit downstairs. I'll be making a copy of it tonight- mom, what hotel are we staying in?"

His mom frowned, thinking. "I don't recall- it's not the Grand Paris, I know that much, because the last time we visited and stayed there, it was a bit too expensive even for _my_ tastes and I wasn't particularly impressed by the place. It reads as more of a bragging rights project than an actual high-end hotel, so I decided to go elsewhere." She frowned in thought for a moment more and then smoothed out her expression automatically- after all, she couldn't get frown lines, that wouldn't be nice- before digging out her phone and navigating to her email, showing Ladybug the confirmation email before tucking the phone back in her pocket.

"Here, I can give you a USB drive now," Ladybug said, popping one out of her yo-yo. Felix tried not to stare, because _seriously, how many functions did that thing have?_ But maybe he shouldn't be surprised, because it was magic, of _course_ it could do whatever Ladybug wanted. "And then I can pop by later?"

"Well after dinner," Amèlie told her. "We're staying here for our evening meal, and then leaving an hour or two later, as though we were taking the last train of the evening out of the city."

Ladybug nodded in understanding. "Okay, I think I know when that is. I'll give you some time to get settled in before I stop by. And I thank you for turning the Miraculous over. I know not everyone would. The idea of powers like that- well, it's too much for some people to resist."

...well, okay, now he was going to feel guilty if he didn't say anything. Also, everything that he had heard before about the Miraculous and the wish that the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous granted was just guess and conjecture, and he- he wanted to _know_. Surely as the holder of one of those Miraculous, Ladybug would know more.

"I..." Felix trailed off, glancing to the side. "I will admit, I considered it for maybe a couple minutes. The opportunity to have my father back...and with the price, well, what if we traded _my_ dad for Adrien's father? It's not like having the world be down one supervillain would have been _awful,_ especially because my dad was actually _nice_. He cared about others, not just himself, and he wouldn't have even _considered_ doing what Mr. Agreste did." He glanced back at Ladybug. "But that's not how the wish would work, would it? That seems too neat and tidy, to be able to pick and choose the person to trade."

"It's definitely more unpredictable," Ladybug agreed. "Even Chat Noir and I's mentor- he's been studying the Miraculous for _years,_ and he made a really dumb mistake that caused a lot of destruction. You would think that he would use the Cure and fix that, but even _he_ doesn't want to mess around with the Wish. There's just no way to control what the price would be."

Felix nodded. "Okay. Thank you." There had been no opportunities missed, after all. That would keep him from staying awake at night, wondering and wishing and cursing himself for not at least _trying_.

With one last bright smile, Ladybug thanked them again and took off out the window, vanishing quickly. They all watched her go before falling into a somewhat uneasy silence as Adrien and Felix finished swapping back their appearances. Once they were finished, Felix's mom spoke up again.

"We'll have to be careful going forward," she told them. "Adrien, your father is bound to notice that his Miraculous is missing at some point today. I doubt that he would try to make a fuss with Felix and I here, but once we leave- well, I don't think that you should stay here tonight."

"I can lock my door and sneak out," Adrien offered. "I've done it before, and even if Nathalie and Father have the key to the door, I know how to block the doors so that they can't be opened. And, uh." He ducked his head, a small smile on his lips. "Marinette just texted me and said that I can stay over at her house, since they have a guest room."

"Oh, good. Perfect." Amèlie beamed at them. "So I think _that_ unpleasant business has been as sorted out as much as possible, then, and we can move on to more pleasant topics and actually enjoy the rest of our visit here. So. Uh. Ideas?"

"Uh, maybe just one," Felix starting, figuring that- well, he was curious, and this was probably as good of a time for it as any. After all, the visit was already a bit awkward with his uncle's impending arrest for domestic terrorism via magic supervillains, so surely it couldn't get much worse. "Earlier, in the cellar, Uncle said something about him and Aunt Emilie having fertility problems and Dad helping out. Uh, can I just ask- _what?_ "

* * *

Gabriel Agreste let out a long breath once the Graham de Vanilys had finally, _finally_ left, barely sparing Adrien a glance before heading back into his office and calling up a generous glass of scotch to sooth his nerves. His in-laws were as absolutely infuriating and interfering as he had remembered, barely deterred by the loss of Amèlie's husband, it seemed. Add in the fact that Amèlie _still_ couldn't get her thick head around the concept that, family heirlooms or no, the twin rings belonged to _him_ now, and the fact that Adrien's dash after learning about Gabriel's secret identity had caused no small amount of stress, _and_ the fact that Amèlie hadn't accepted no for an answer and had forced Gabriel out of his office for dinner, just to make her stop pestering him and shut up- well, it really was no wonder that Gabriel had been nursing a small but persistent headache for most of the day.

But now they were gone- at least for now, he didn't doubt that they would be back in another couple of months to pester him some more, that family was nothing if not annoyingly persistent- and he could take some Advil with his scotch before settling in to plan out how he and Adrien could work together to take down the superheroes. With any luck, they could steal another Miraculous from one of the lesser, temporary superheroes and Adrien could use that to tip the scales. Gabriel wouldn't allow it for many battles- Adrien would _only_ go out if conditions were solidly in their favor, because if he got his identity exposed that would be a _disaster_ \- but it could be the extra thing they needed, a strong akuma plus a sentimonster plus him and Mayura _and_ Adrien.

"I could design the perfect akuma to make Ladybug and Chat Noir pull out one of the temporary heroes," Gabriel mused to himself once his drink was gone and his headache had receded, already rising to head for his elevator. He could plot better up in his lair, and he would also be ready if any negative emotions showed up in the city. There had been a surprising lack of them so far today, and he didn't understand _why_. "Which could very well mean re-akumatizing one of the people who _got_ that reaction again. That could be difficult, unless I can direct Lila, perhaps." _That_ wouldn't be hard, he was sure, considering that the girl seemed to jump on every opportunity to attack Ladybug. "But I might need to plan this one out some more. Nooroo, remind me what akumas brought out the B-team."

There was silence. Gabriel frowned, his fingers mid-reach towards the elevator buttons that would whisk him up to his lair. "Nooroo?"

Nothing. Dread started to pool in Gabriel's gut, and he scrambled to pull off his ascot, tossing it to the side to get a clear view of his neck.

His neck, which was- for the first time since he had put the brooch on- _bare_.

"No, no no _no!_ " Gabriel snarled, sure that there had been a mistake. He dropped to his knees, snatching up his ascot and rifling through it in case the brooch had simply gotten snarled in the knot of fabric. His search yielded nothing. "Come on, come _on_ , I couldn't have lost it!" The only new person who knew about him being Hawkmoth- who would have _any_ idea about the hidden brooch- was _Adrien_ , but he wouldn't _dare_ steal his father's Miraculous. He wasn't anywhere _near_ slick enough, after all- it was _Felix_ that was the silver-tongued thief- and besides, he had clearly been _very_ interested in his mother's return.

So where had it _gone?_

"Okay, _breathe_ ," Gabriel muttered to himself, determined not to let himself panic, even as he undid the pin-on ascot so that he could flatten it out. Panic led to dumb decisions, which could mean an end for him. "Adrien couldn't have taken it without tipping me off, he has _no_ control over his emotions. He would have been nervous, and I would have been put on high alert. Maybe I just didn't fasten it right this morning and then it got knocked off."

Yes, that had to be it. Gabriel remembered that he had had to scold Nooroo in front of Adrien when they were in the underground cavern, so he had had the Miraculous then, at least. Which meant that it might have gotten knocked off down there. Where the walkway was not solid and there was rushing water down below.

That would _not_ be good. Visions of the Miraculous getting whisked away by the rushing water danced through his head, and Gabriel's blood pressure spiked again before he remembered that Nathalie still had the Peacock Miraculous. They had to be careful with their usage of it, sure, but _surely_ they could manage a transformation and a sentimonster that could sniff out the Butterfly Miraculous and return it. They might have to wait a week to make sure that Nathalie had fully recovered from her last transformation- or maybe it would be smarter for _him_ to use the Peacock. The thought made Gabriel clench his hands, because the mere _idea_ of subjecting himself to the peacock's weakness was-

Something was wrong. It hadn't been immediately obvious, but when he clenched his fists….

Gabriel's gut twisted as he looked down and then once again, he froze. This time, it had _nothing_ to do with his missing Miraculous. Instead, Gabriel was staring at his bare hand. Specifically, his bare ring finger.

His ring. It was _gone_. _Gone_. Just like his Miraculous, vanished into thin air.

 _No_!It-it _couldn't_ be! He had been so careful to not let it out of his sight, and he _certainly_ had never taken it off for more than a minute at a time to clean it. It wasn't as though he would take it off for any other reason- the smooth surface of the ring was hardly going to snag on any fabric, and he was hardly going to deign to do any sort of baking- which meant that it had been removed. Somehow. Without him noticing.

Two _incredibly_ important pieces of jewelry gone without a trace in the span of a day. Gabriel scrambled for his phone, suddenly paranoid that maybe the Peacock had vanished from Nathalie's possession, too. If it had- well, then all was lost, wasn't it?

No. No, it had to be a coincidence. There hadn't been a single opportunity for Adrien to steal his Miraculous, but there certainly _had_ been an opportunity for Felix to palm the ring when they shook hands. He should have been on the lookout for that, should have been on high alert the entire time that his sister-in-law and nephew were within his sight, should have put the ring in a safe until they were gone.

And by now, they were on a train back to London. Gabriel couldn't go after them, and even if he could, Amèlie wouldn't admit to her son taking the ring. They would hide it and play dumb and never let him see that they had it. No, it was well and truly lost to him now, and maddeningly so.

But that didn't mean that the Butterfly was. If he summoned Nathalie back to the house at once- she would be annoyed, certainly, since she had only _just_ left, but as soon as she found out what was going on she would understand the urgency- then they could start the work of figuring out where the Butterfly had gone.

He wasn't going to let Emilie down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If ML is going to make Adrien and Felix inexplicably identical, I'm going to give them a completely bonkers justification for it. In this case, the chances of them looking so similar are a LOT higher if they share a father on top of having identical mothers.
> 
> This was meant to be the second and final part of the story, and it very well might be- I do like my open endings, after all- but it is possible that I might return to this story at some point and write a part 3 that ties up a few of the lose ends. It depends entirely on my inspiration and amount of other projects I have on the go.
> 
> As always, comments make my day! :)


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